11170 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Notices 

Issued on: March 9, 2009. 

James R. Kabel, 

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–5574 Filed 3–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High-Speed Train Project 

From San Jose to Merced, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the 

public that FRA and the California 

High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) 

will jointly prepare a project 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

and project Environmental Impact 

Report (EIR) for the San Jose to Merced 

section of the Authority’s proposed 

California High-Speed Train (HST) 

System in compliance with relevant 

state and federal laws, in particular the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

In 2005, the Authority and FRA 

completed the first tier California High 

Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and 

approved the statewide HST system for 

intercity travel in California between the 

major metropolitan centers of 

Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay 

Area in the north, through the Central 

Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in 

the south. The approved HST system 

would be about 800-miles long, with 

electric propulsion and steel-wheel-onsteel-rail trains capable of maximum 

operating speeds of 220 miles per hour 

(mph) on a mostly dedicated system of 

fully grade-separated, access-controlled 

steel tracks and with state-of-the-art 

safety, signaling, communication, and 

automated train control systems. In 

approving the HST system, the 

Authority and FRA also selected 

preferred corridor alignments and 

station location options throughout 

most of the system. In 2008, the 

Authority and FRA completed a second 

program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments 

and station locations within the broad 

corridor between and including the 

Altamont Pass and the Pacheco Pass to 

connect the Bay Area and Central Valley 

portions of the HST system. The 

Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco 

Pass with San Francisco and San Jose 

termini network alternative, as well as 

preferred corridor alignments and 

station location options. The selected 

alignment uses the Caltrain rail right-ofway, between San Francisco and San 

Jose along the San Francisco Peninsula, 

through the Pacheco Pass and via Henry 

Miller Road, between San Jose and the 

Central Valley. 

The preparation of the San Jose to 

Merced HST Project EIR/EIS will 

involve development of preliminary 

engineering designs and assessment of 

environmental effects associated with 

the construction, operation, and 

maintenance of the HST system, 

including track, ancillary facilities and 

a Gilroy station, along the Caltrain/ 

UPRR corridor from San Jose to Gilroy, 

through the Pacheco Pass, and via 

Henry Miller Road in the Central Valley. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the San Jose to Merced HST Project 

EIR/EIS should be provided to the 

Authority by April 10, 2009. Public 

scoping meetings are scheduled from 

March 18, 2009 to March 26, 2009, as 

noted below in Santa Clara and Merced 

Counties. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of this EIR/EIS should be sent to 

Mr. Dan Leavitt, Deputy Director, 

ATTN: San Jose to Merced, California 

High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, 

Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814, or 

via e-mail with subject line ‘‘San Jose to 

Merced HST’’ to: comments@hsr.ca.gov. 

Comments may also be provided orally 

or in writing at the scoping meetings 

scheduled at the following locations: 

• Merced Community Senior Center, 

755 W. 15th Street, Merced, California, 

March 18 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. (joint 

meeting with the Bakersfield to Merced 

Section) 

• Roosevelt Community Center, 

Community Room B, 901 E Santa Clara 

Street, San Jose, California, March 25, 

2009 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

• Gilroy Hilton Garden Inn Harvest 

Room, 6070 Monterey Road, Gilroy, 

California, March 26, 2009 from 3 p.m. 

to 7 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Valenstein, Environmental 

Program Manager, Office of Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), 

Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: 

(202) 493–6368, or Mr. Dan Leavitt, 

Telephone: (916) 324–1541 at the above 

noted address. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Authority was established in 1996 and 

is authorized and directed by statute to 

undertake the planning and 

development of a proposed statewide 

HST network that is fully coordinated 

with other public transportation 

services. The Authority adopted a Final 

Business Plan in June 2000, which 

reviewed the economic feasibility of an 

800-mile-long HST capable of speeds in 

excess of 200 miles per hour on a 

dedicated, fully grade-separated state-ofthe-art track. The Authority released an 

updated Business Plan in November 

2008. 

The FRA has responsibility for 

oversight of the safety of railroad 

operations, including the safety of any 

proposed high-speed ground 

transportation system. For the proposed 

HST, it is anticipated that FRA would 

need to take certain regulatory actions 

prior to operation. 

In 2005, the Authority and FRA 

completed a Final Program EIR/EIS for 

the Proposed California High Speed 

Train System (Statewide Program EIR/ 

EIS), as the first phase of a tiered 

environmental review process. The 

Authority certified the Final Program 

EIR under CEQA and approved the 

proposed HST System, and FRA issued 

a Record of Decision under NEPA on the 

Final Program EIS. This statewide 

program EIR/EIS established the 

purpose and need for the HST system, 

analyzed an HST system, and compared 

it with a No Project/No Action 

Alternative and a Modal Alternative. In 

approving the statewide program EIR/ 

EIS, the Authority and FRA selected the 

HST Alternative, selected certain 

corridors/general alignments and 

general station locations for further 

study, incorporated mitigation strategies 

and design practices, and specified 

further measures to guide the 

development of the HST system at the 

site-specific project level of 

environmental review to avoid and 

minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. In the 

subsequent Bay Area to Central Valley 

HST Final Program EIR/EIS, the 

Authority and FRA selected as the 

preferred alternative the Caltrain/UPRR 

corridor between San Jose and Gilroy to 

connect with the San Francisco to San 

Jose section, and the Pacheco Pass and 

Henry Miller Road corridor from Gilroy 

to Merced to connect with the Central 

Valley section of the HST system. 

The San Jose to Merced HST Project 

EIR/EIS will tier from the Final 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS and the 

Final Bay Area to Central Valley HST 

Program EIR/EIS in accordance with 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) regulations, (40 CFR 1508.28) and 

State CEQA Guidelines (14 C.C.R. Sec. 

15168[b]). Tiering will ensure that the 

San Jose to Merced HST Project EIR/EIS 

builds upon all previous work prepared 

for and incorporated in the Statewide 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Notices 11171 

Program EIR/EIS and the Bay Area to 

Central Valley HST Program EIR/EIS. 

This Project EIR/EIS will describe 

site-specific environmental impacts; 

will identify specific mitigation 

measures to address those impacts; and 

will incorporate design practices to 

avoid and minimize potential adverse 

environmental impacts. The FRA and 

the Authority will assess the site 

characteristics, size, nature, and timing 

of proposed site-specific projects to 

determine whether the impacts are 

potentially significant and whether 

impacts can be avoided or mitigated. 

This project EIR/EIS will identify and 

evaluate reasonable and feasible sitespecific alignment alternatives, and 

evaluate the impacts from construction, 

operation, and maintenance of the HST 

system. Information and documents 

regarding this HST environmental 

review process will be made available 

through the Authority’s Internet site: 

http://www.cahighspeedrail.gov/. 

Purpose and Need: The purpose of the 

proposed HST system is to provide a 

new mode of high-speed intercity travel 

that would link major metropolitan 

areas of the state; interface with 

international airports, mass transit, and 

highways; and provide added capacity 

to meet increases in intercity travel 

demand in California in a manner 

sensitive to and protective of 

California’s unique natural resources. 

The need for a high-speed train (HST) 

system is directly related to the 

expected growth in population, and 

increases in intercity travel demand in 

California over the next twenty years 

and beyond. With the growth in travel 

demand, there will be an increase in 

travel delays arising from the growing 

congestion on California’s highways and 

at airports. In addition, there will be 

negative effects on the economy, quality 

of life, and air quality in and around 

California’s metropolitan areas from a 

transportation system that will become 

less reliable as travel demand increases. 

The intercity highway system, 

commercial airports, and conventional 

passenger rail serving the intercity 

travel market are currently operating at 

or near capacity, and will require large 

public investments for maintenance and 

expansion to meet existing demand and 

future growth. 

Alternatives: The San Jose to Merced 

HST Project EIR/EIS will consider a No 

Action or No Project Alternative and an 

HST Alternative for the San Jose to 

Merced corridor. 

No Action Alternative: The No Action 

Alternative (No Project or No Build) 

represents the conditions in the corridor 

as it existed in 2007, and as it would 

exist based on programmed and funded 

improvements to the intercity 

transportation system and other 

reasonably foreseeable projects through 

2035, taking into account the following 

sources of information: State 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP), Regional Transportation Plans 

(RTPs) for all modes of travel, airport 

plans, intercity passenger rail plans, city 

and county plans. 

HST Alternative: The Authority 

proposes to construct, operate and 

maintain an electric-powered steelwheel-on-steel-rail HST system, about 

800 miles long, capable of operating 

speeds of 220 mph on mostly dedicated, 

fully grade-separated tracks, with stateof-the-art safety, signaling, and 

automated train control systems. The 

San Jose to Merced HST corridor 

selected by the Authority and FRA and 

the subject of this Project EIR/EIS 

generally follows the Caltrain/UPRR 

corridor from San Jose to Gilroy. From 

Gilroy, the corridor extends east through 

the Pacheco Pass generally following 

State Route 152 and then along Henry 

Miller Road across the valley floor to 

connect with the Merced to Bakersfield 

section of the HST system. 

Further engineering studies will be 

undertaken as part of this EIR/EIS 

process that will examine design 

options along the Caltrain/UPRR 

corridor and possible use of portions of 

parallel transportation corridors. 

Alignment refinements in the Pacheco 

Pass area potentially locating the HST 

line closer to State Route 152 will be 

reviewed to determine their practicality 

and their ability to reduce 

environmental impacts. Alignment 

variations along Henry Miller Road 

(both to the north and south) will be 

identified and evaluated for the purpose 

of minimizing or avoiding impacts to 

resources in the Grasslands Ecological 

Area (GEA). 

The entire alignment would be grade 

separated. The options to be considered 

for the design of grade-separated 

roadway crossings would include (1) 

depressing the street to pass under the 

rail line; (2) elevating the street to pass 

over the rail line; (3) leaving the street 

as-is and constructing rail line 

improvements to pass over or under the 

local street; and (4) street closure, if 

appropriate. In addition, alternative 

sites for right-of-way maintenance, train 

storage facilities and a train service and 

inspection facility will be evaluated in 

the San Jose to Merced HST project area. 

The preferred station location in the 

City of Gilroy is the current Caltrain 

Station. This location was selected by 

the Authority and FRA through the Bay 

Area to Central Valley HST Final 

Program EIR/EIS considering the project 

purpose and need, and the program 

objectives. Alternative station sites at or 

near the preferred location may be 

identified and evaluated in this Project 

EIR/EIS. There will be no station 

between Gilroy and Merced and no 

maintenance and storage facilities 

considered in the Los Banos area (or in 

the vicinity of the GEA). 

Probable Effects: The purpose of the 

EIR/EIS process is to explore in a public 

setting the effects of the proposed 

project on the physical, human, and 

natural environment. The FRA and the 

Authority will continue the tiered 

evaluation of all significant 

environmental, social, and economic 

impacts of the construction and 

operation of the HST system. Impact 

areas to be addressed include 

transportation impacts; safety and 

security; land use and zoning; 

agricultural land impacts, land 

acquisition, displacements, and 

relocations; cumulative and secondary 

impacts; cultural resource impacts, 

including impacts on historical and 

archaeological resources and parklands/ 

recreation areas; neighborhood 

compatibility and environmental 

justice; and natural resource impacts 

including air quality, wetlands, water 

resources, noise, vibration, energy, 

wildlife and ecosystems, including 

endangered species. Measures to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts 

will be identified and evaluated. 

The San Jose to Merced HST Project 

EIR/EIS will be prepared in accordance 

with FRA’s Procedures for Considering 

Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545 

[May 26, 1999]) and will address not 

only NEPA and CEQA but also other 

applicable statutes, regulations, and 

executive orders, including the Clean 

Air Act, Section 404 of the Clean Water 

Act, Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, Section 4(f) of 

the Department of Transportation Act, 

the Endangered Species Act, and 

Executive Order 12898 on 

Environmental Justice. 

This EIR/EIS process will continue 

the NEPA/Clean Water Act Section 404 

integration process established through 

the Statewide Program EIR/EIS process. 

The EIR/EIS will evaluate project 

alignment alternatives, station and 

maintenance facility locations to 

support a determination of the Least 

Environmentally Damaging Practicable 

Alternative (‘‘LEDPA’’) by the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

Scoping and Comments: FRA 

encourages broad participation in the 

EIS process during scoping and review 

of the resulting environmental 

documents. Comments are invited from 

all interested agencies and the public to 

11172 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 49 / Monday, March 16, 2009 / Notices 

ensure the full range of issues related to 

the proposed action and reasonable 

alternatives are addressed and all 

significant issues are identified. In 

particular, FRA is interested in 

determining whether there are areas of 

environmental concern where there 

might be a potential for significant sitespecific impacts. Public agencies with 

jurisdiction are requested to advise FRA 

and the Authority of the applicable 

permit and environmental review 

requirements of each agency, and the 

scope and content of the environmental 

information that is germane to the 

agency’s statutory responsibilities in 

connection with the proposed project. 

Public agencies are requested to advise 

FRA if they anticipate taking a major 

action in connection with the proposed 

project and if they wish to cooperate in 

the preparation of the Project EIR/EIS. 

Public scoping meetings have been 

scheduled as an important component 

of the scoping process for both the State 

and Federal environmental review. The 

scoping meetings described in this 

Notice will also be the subject of 

additional public notification. 

FRA is seeking participation and 

input of all interested Federal, State, 

and local agencies, Native American 

groups, and other concerned private 

organizations and individuals on the 

scope of the EIR/EIS. Implementation of 

the San Jose to Merced section of the 

HST system is a federal undertaking 

with the potential to affect historic 

properties. As such, it is subject to the 

requirements of section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act of 

1966 (16 U.S.C. 470f). In accordance 

with regulations issued by the Advisory 

Council on Historic Preservation, 36 

CFR part 800, FRA intends to coordinate 

compliance with section 106 of this Act 

with the preparation of the EIR/EIS, 

beginning with the identification of 

consulting parties through the scoping 

process, in a manner consistent with the 

standards set out in 36 CFR 800.8. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 

2009. 

Ray LaHood, 

Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. E9–5573 Filed 3–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High Speed Train Project 

From Merced to Bakersfield, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the 

public that FRA and the California High 

Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will 

jointly prepare a project Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) and project 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for 

the Merced-to-Bakersfield section of the 

Authority’s proposed California HighSpeed Train (HST) System in 

compliance with relevant State and 

Federal laws, in particular the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). 

In 2001, the Authority and FRA 

started a tiered environmental review 

process for the HST system and in 2005, 

completed the first tier California High 

Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and 

approved the statewide HST system for 

intercity travel in California between the 

major metropolitan centers of 

Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay 

Area in the north, through the Central 

Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in 

the south. The approved HST system 

would be about 800-miles long, with 

electric propulsion and steel-wheel-onsteel-rail trains capable of operating 

speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on 

a dedicated system of fully gradeseparated, access-controlled steel tracks 

and with state-of-the-art safety, 

signaling, communication, and 

automated train control systems. In 

approving the HST system, the 

Authority and FRA also selected 

preferred corridor alignments and 

station location options throughout 

most of the system. In 2008, the 

Authority and FRA completed a second 

program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments 

and station locations within the broad 

corridor between and including the 

Altamont Pass and the Pacheco Pass to 

connect the Bay Area and Central Valley 

portions of the HST system. The 

Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco 

Pass with San Francisco and San Jose 

termini network alternative, as well as 

preferred corridor alignments and 

station location options. The selected 

alignment uses the Union Pacific 

(UPRR) railroad corridor through the 

portion of the Central Valley from just 

north of Madera to just south of 

Stockton and the Burlington Northern 

Santa Fe (BNSF) alignment from Madera 

to Bakersfield, as selected with the 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS. 

The preparation of the Merced to 

Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will 

involve development of preliminary 

engineering designs and assessment of 

environmental effects associated with 

the construction, operation, and 

maintenance of the HST system, 

including track, ancillary facilities and 

stations, along the preferred alternative 

corridors from Merced to Bakersfield. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the Merced to Bakersfield HST 

Project EIR/EIS should be provided to 

the Authority by April 10, 2009. Public 

scoping meetings are scheduled from 

March 18, 2009 to March 26, 2009, as 

noted below in the cities of Merced, 

Madera, Fresno, Visalia, and 

Bakersfield. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope should be sent to Ms. Carrie 

Pourvahidi, Deputy Director, ATTN. 

Merced to Bakersfield, California HighSpeed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, 

Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814, or 

via e-mail with subject line ‘‘Merced to 

Bakersfield HST’’ to: 

comments@hsr.ca.gov. Comments may 

also be provided orally or in writing at 

the scoping meetings scheduled as 

follows: 

• March 18, 2009: Merced 

Community Senior Center, from 3 p.m. 

to 7 p.m. 

• March 19, 2009: Madera County 

Fairgrounds, 1850 West Cleveland 

Avenue, Madera, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

• March 24, 2009: Visalia Convention 

Center, 303 E. Acequia Avenue, Visalia, 

from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

• March 25, 2009: Fresno Convention 

Center (Exhibit Hall), 848 M Street, 

Fresno, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

• March 26, 2009: Rabobank Theater, 

1001 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, from 

3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Valenstein, Environmental 

Program Manager, Office of Railroad 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20), 

Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: 

(202) 493–6368, or Ms. Carrie 

Pourvahidi, Telephone: (916) 324–1541 

at the above noted address. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Authority was established in 1996 and 

is authorized and directed by statute to 

undertake the planning and 

development of a proposed statewide 

HST network that is fully coordinated 

with other public transportation